The dream and the nightmare

In 'The Dream and the Nightmare', Myron Magnet argues that the radical cultural changes of the 1960s led to the formation of the underclass, primarily affecting urban minority communities.

He contends that lifestyle experimentation among the middle class resulted in catastrophic changes in attitudes toward marriage, parenting, and work ethic, ultimately closing off opportunities for social mobility for those at the bottom of the social ladder.

Magnet suggests that misguided social policies and cultural shifts have entrenched dependency and eroded personal responsibility among the underclass.